Agitate.
I would tell the late photo archivist Donna Wells that fellow Iowa State University graduate George Washington Carver was my patron saint. She would reply that Frederick Douglass was her husband. Washington’s Arena Stage is now presenting a staged play about Well’s fanciful husband in “American Prophet: Frederick Douglass in His Own Words.”
“I have no love for America as such,” proclaimed Douglass (Cornelius Smith, Jr) at the opening, as an imaginary Wells stood on my shoulder and threw a supporting kiss to her imaginary husband on stage.
As the fast-moving two-hour musical unfolded, Douglass’ wife Anna Murray Douglass (Kristolyn Lloyd) sang the first of several songs that showcased her very skilled voice. Lloyd’s delightful sound and delivery of Anna’s thoughts signaled that the performance could be memorable. “Bringing the female voice into the Frederick Douglass story was very special,” added Southwest DC neighborhood theatergoer Vylloria Evans.
An imaginary CR Gibbs appeared on my shoulder and reminded me: TV shows, movies, and plays are for entertainment, if you want facts and a balanced story, read some books, bro.
On the opposite end of the scale were the sanitized fight scenes. One of the most repeated stories of Douglass’ life is his beating up the White man who was to break the enslaved Douglass. When the African fought back, the European-American learned to leave Douglass alone. The lesson as depicted in the movie shown at his home, Cedar Hill, in Southeast DC, provided my then 7-year-old nephew a lecture that he freely recanted after the viewing. A lesson I think he would have missed even as a 36-year-old man watching this play.
Segments over his dispute with fellow abolitionist and mentor Henry Lloyd Garrison were, however, the most irritating. This is when the thoughts of historian and Port of Harlem contributor CR Gibbs rushed to my forethoughts. An imaginary Gibbs appeared on my shoulder and reminded me: TV shows, movies, and plays are for entertainment, if you want facts and a balanced story, read some books, bro.
The scene centered around what Gibbs call “undocumented rumors” of his having affairs, including one with Julie Griffins. “Julia Griffiths was one of two White women who had significant (documented professional) relationships with Douglass. The other was Ottile Assing,” clarified Gibbs.
According to Gibbs, Griffiths eventually moved from the Douglass home and married. Assing, who had incurable breast cancer and suicidal tendencies, committed suicide on a park bench, after Anna died and Douglass' married Helen Pitts, another White woman.
Added Gibbs, “There is no hard first-hand evidence of a sexual relationship with either women, but Assing had her letters burned and bequeathed Douglass a substantial sum of money.” There is a book, "Love Across the Color Line," on the Douglass-Assing relationship.
Segments of the story as told by Marcus Human and Charles Randolph-Wright at Arena Stage seemed more appropriate for FOX news; even more so with Annie looking afar at Douglass and Griffiths like the angry Colored woman.
American Prophet (Frederick Douglass) – Entertaining, not Liberating
Entertainment
Anna could not read or write. She left no memoirs or recollections. For that reason, says Gibbs, “A supposed response from her that appeared in Garrison's “Liberator” denying marital troubles is considered by many to be a forgery. One woman who knew her has said that Anna told her she did not write the letter.”
If they needed drama, instead of taking the Griffiths innuendo and stretching it into a tantalizing Kerry Washington scandal, they could have included the better documented response to his interracial marriage to Pitts.
That’s when Douglass reenactor Nathan Richardson, in imaginary form, tapped me on my shoulder. He said hey Wayne, Douglass would say Anna “is the center post of the house and kept the roof from caving in on the family.”
If they needed drama, instead of taking the Griffiths innuendo and stretching it into a tantalizing Kerry Washington scandal, they could have included the better documented response to his interracial marriage to Pitts.
Nevertheless, I put my imaginary little Donna, CR, and Nathan in my shirt pocket and enjoyed the entertainment. Cora Williams of Northern Virginia added, “I liked all the costumes.” So, did I Cora.
Other remarkable segments included the story of the unwavering liberator John Brown (Chris Roberts) and the dithering-friend-of-the Negro President Lincoln, played connivingly by his visual twin Thomas Adrian Simpson.
At the opening night performance, Supreme Court Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson was in the audience. She and the Vice President’s interracial unions caused some to question if President Biden only promoted Black women who married White men - - in 2022. Maybe, the writers skipped inserting the documented 1884 interracial Douglass-Pitts conflict in the story with the hope Harris or Brown would come see the play. That’s just an innuendo, I admit. Nonetheless, after the performance, from the stage, Randolph-Wright told Brown Jackson she was our hope.
“It was very entertaining,” added Kym Chandler, who have shared experiences with me of having been inspired and feeling liberated when walking into George Washington Carver Hall on the sometimes-hostile Iowa State campus. I agree with the now Wisconsinite, but my hope is that before or after being wonderfully entertained at Arena Stage, readers will, at minimum, look at the film shown at Cedar Hill, Douglass’s estate. It’s entertaining, inspirational, and liberating: Fighter for Freedom: The Frederick Douglass Story.
Agitate.
More:
Frederick Douglass in Africa, Part l and Part ll By CR Gibbs
Critical Race Theory and The Apostles of Forgetfulness By Nathan Richardson
The Agitators - a play is about the very long activist relationship between two icons: Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony.
If they needed drama, instead of taking the Griffiths innuendo and stretching it into a tantalizing Kerry Washington scandal, they could have included the better documented response to his interracial marriage to Pitts.
That’s when Douglass reenactor Nathan Richardson, in imaginary form, tapped me on my shoulder. He said hey Wayne, Douglass would say Anna “is the center post of the house and kept the roof from caving in on the family.”
If they needed drama, instead of taking the Griffiths innuendo and stretching it into a tantalizing Kerry Washington scandal, they could have included the better documented response to his interracial marriage to Pitts.
Nevertheless, I put my imaginary little Donna, CR, and Nathan in my shirt pocket and enjoyed the entertainment. Cora Williams of Northern Virginia added, “I liked all the costumes.” So, did I Cora.
Other remarkable segments included the story of the unwavering liberator John Brown (Chris Roberts) and the dithering-friend-of-the Negro President Lincoln, played connivingly by his visual twin Thomas Adrian Simpson.
At the opening night performance, Supreme Court Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson was in the audience. She and the Vice President’s interracial unions caused some to question if President Biden only promoted Black women who married White men - - in 2022. Maybe, the writers skipped inserting the documented 1884 interracial Douglass-Pitts conflict in the story with the hope Harris or Brown would come see the play. That’s just an innuendo, I admit. Nonetheless, after the performance, from the stage, Randolph-Wright told Brown Jackson she was our hope.
“It was very entertaining,” added Kym Chandler, who have shared experiences with me of having been inspired and feeling liberated when walking into George Washington Carver Hall on the sometimes-hostile Iowa State campus. I agree with the now Wisconsinite, but my hope is that before or after being wonderfully entertained at Arena Stage, readers will, at minimum, look at the film shown at Cedar Hill, Douglass’s estate. It’s entertaining, inspirational, and liberating: Fighter for Freedom: The Frederick Douglass Story.
Agitate.
More:
Frederick Douglass in Africa, Part l and Part ll By CR Gibbs
Critical Race Theory and The Apostles of Forgetfulness By Nathan Richardson
The Agitators - a play is about the very long activist relationship between two icons: Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony.
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